Heather Schenck serves up ice cream at a previous ice cream social, sponsored by the Museum of Moab in celebration of Pioneer Day. This year’s event will be held Wednesday, July 24 at the museum, 118 E. Center St. Courtesy photo

Pioneer Day, a Utah state holiday, is celebrated on July 24, the anniversary of the Mormon pioneers’ arrival in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.

This year, Moab will once again celebrate Pioneer Day with a free ice cream social hosted by the Museum of Moab. The event is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 24, on the lawn just outside the museum, located at 118 East Center Street. Moab Ice Cream will be scooping up free cones for folks of all ages at the public event, which also features games, fun, and light entertainment by local musicians and other performers.

According to museum officials, the museum has been hosting an ice cream social on Pioneer Day since 1978. For more information about the social, call 435-259-7985.

Earlier in the day on July 24, members of the Moab Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) will be hosting a couple of commemorative events to which visitors are welcome. The first is a stake-wide breakfast at Moab’s Old City Park starting at 7 a.m.

Then, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., the LDS Family History Center at 300 South and 100 East in Moab will host a free open house during which members and visitors can research information about their pioneer ancestors. Hands-on training will be provided, and attendees are invited to bring family stories for sharing and photos for scanning. Personal laptops and flash drives are encouraged, and an ancestor scavenger hunt is planned. For more information, call Norm or Vicki Barber at 435-259-6526.

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